


The Limit

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Seven H/C Bingo Card [21]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Electrocution, Gen, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 01:14:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8183186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Even superheroes have their limits. Kara finally finds hers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. Written for H/C Bingo Round 7.

"Tell me where your cousin lives. Tell me who he is."

"Go to hell."

The answering pain is intense and immediate, electricity a whipcrack through her veins, but Kara knows she's strong enough to withstand it. _You're getting nothing out of me._

\----

 _She's strong,_ Cat reminds herself. _Strong enough to fight this off. Strong enough to--_

Supergirl's screams are even more terrifying coming through the glass walls of Cat's office from the television in the bullpen than they had been coming through the high definition speakers in the company car on the way in this morning.

_Was that really only two hours ago? How have they not found the source of the broadcast yet?_

The whole IT team has been working nonstop since the broadcast started coming through two hours ago on every single form of CatCo communication--radio, TV, even the website had been completely taken over by the footage. It had driven web traffic through the roof, and Cat's certain the Nielsen rating will show similar results, but for once in her life she doesn't give a damn about ratings. Here, now, after so long watching over Supergirl and feeling like her benefactor, all Cat feels now is guilt. Guilt for a girl's life and pain suddenly plastered all over for the world to see, Cat's media empire used to topple the apparent strength of the town's resident superhero.

The screams stop again and Cat takes up her mantra once again. _She's strong. Strong enough to fight this off. Strong enough to survive. And she has friends. Her friends will come for her. Her friends will help her._

James hasn't come in yet today that Cat's seen, and she can't find it in her to care. She can't help but hope-- _pray_ that he's out there with Superman and the rest of their band of misfits trying to find Supergirl and get her back to safety. More concerning is the fact that Kara hasn't come in yet today. If Cat's going to come this close to falling apart at the seams, the least her assistant could do is come in and put her back together.

The screams start up again in the bullpen, and it's only years of practice that let Cat keep her head held high behind her desk.

_She's strong._

Somehow the words don't feel like they mean anything anymore.

\----

"Look, I'm doing you a favor coming after you instead of the people you love. At least this way your identity isn't public knowledge, and you can keep them safe. All you have to do is give me Superman."

The words are harder this time, but she's strong enough to utter them. "Go… to hell."

"Suit yourself."

The pain constricts her lungs, tightens every muscle in her body, but she is strong and she is brave, and she can survive this.

She can.

\----

"Ms. Grant?"

Cat looks up, unable to place the face in front of her. "Yes?"

"We, um. We haven't been able to locate where the footage is being broadcast from, but with a full reboot of the company systems, we can shut it down and halt the broadcast."

"Oh."

The girl--someone from IT, it would seem--shifts from foot to foot, looking uncertain. "Do you… do you want us to shut it down?"

Cat blinks, her immediate response stilling on her tongue. "Not yet. Get me James Olsen on the phone."

"But I don't--"

"Now."

\----

"I could take them all out with just a word. One word and they're all dead. Just give me Superman, and I can ensure their safety."

"If… you knew… who I was… they'd already… be here." Every word is a Herculean effort, and even as the threat sits like blood on the back of her tongue, she knows they're true. Someone that has the knowledge and power to take her captive, subdue her, and torture her certainly has the power to bring in Alex and Eliza. Maybe not Superman, but Alex and Eliza certainly. If they're not here, they're safe. "You wouldn't be… threatening them blindly. You'd have them… here."

A smirk. "Clever. Cleverer than I gave you credit for."

Then the pain is back and she doesn't bother trying to think anymore.

\----

"Ms. Grant," James sounds harried, but Cat doesn't bother to feel anything other than a sliver of hope that she got through to him. "I'm sorry, but I--"

"Would knowing where the broadcast was coming from help you?"

"--can't come into… what?"

"The broadcast her kidnappers are sending over my channels. Would knowing where it's coming from help you?"

There's muffled conversation on the other end of the line, and when James comes back Cat hears her own cautious hope reflected back at her. "Do you know where it's coming from?"

"No. But I imagine you have _someone_ on your team that's tech savvy enough to get that information out of my systems."

More muffled conversation. "I do, but I can't have you knowing who he is." Muffled protestations, but James stands firm. "You need to clear out the IT rooms and let me bring him in with my keycard."

Cat finds herself waving an imperious hand even though there's no one there to see it. "Fine, James. Whatever it takes to find her. Do you need the broadcast to still be running?"

James repeats the question to someone on his end. "Yes. We do."

Cat thins her lips and nods. "You get him in here within the hour, James. I'll clear the IT rooms right now."

There's silence on the other end for a moment. Then, "Thank you, Ms. Grant."

Cat closes her eyes. "I want her home safe as much as you do, James. So you do whatever it takes to bring her home, you hear me?"

"I hear you." The smile in his voice is the closest thing to a real comfort she's heard in hours.

\----

The green of the kryptonite around her wrists isn't the only light in the dark space, but it's the only light that matters. The whole world knows her weakness now, and she's certain far too many of Clark's enemies will realize that it's his too. She can't help but stare down at her wrists in the brief glimpses of relief between the long stretches of pain as the electricity crackles down her veins.

Someone grabs her chin, forcing her to look up. A face spits out words she doesn't understand, and all she can do is blink up at it. There's an angry sound--harsh and sharp--and then the figure lets her chin drop back to her chest, letting her eyes catch on her shackles again.

_I'm sorry, Clark. I'm so sorry._

Then, through the return of the pain, there's the sound of fighting, and the world tilts dangerously, but the pain stops, and there are soft hands on her cheeks.

"You're okay, Supergirl. You're okay."

She blinks, her vision still swimming, but she doesn't quite believe it. It's been too long, too many hours of pain and hurt and impossible hope, but for an instant, she lets herself believe.

"You're okay."

\----

When Kara shows up the day after the Supergirl kidnapping looking as tired and worn out as Cat's ever seen her, Cat almost sends her home right then and there. James keeps sending her worried glances as he passes by her desk, and the man at the desk across from hers keeps getting up to check on her to the point that Cat's certain he hasn't done a lick of work all day. By noon, Kara's fumbled three sets of copy and almost sent five different emails with severe typos in them, and Cat sends her home without a second thought.

It isn't until later that night that it occurs to her to wonder why Kara, normally so energetic, seemed so severely affected by a day she wasn't even at work for. Old doubts resurface, and, for a moment, Cat lets herself believe again. But that ship has sailed, and this is no time to be wondering things like that again.

There's work to be done.

\----

"He tried to use me to get to you, Clark. I'm a liability."

"You're not--"

"I am, Clark. It's time for me to hang up the cape."

"I can't protect Metropolis and National City at the same time!"

"You won't have to. With me gone, the city should be safe again."

"It doesn't work like that!"

"It has to, this time. I can't risk him finding out who I am and coming after my family."

"I can take care of myself."

"You can. But Alex? Eliza? They're not like us, Clark. They're human. And I need to keep them safe."

"You can't protect everyone, Kara."

"Maybe not. But I can damn well try."

\----

Supergirl doesn't reappear after the kidnapping. Cat would almost think she's run scared, but that's not in her character. Still, when a month passes and there's been no reappearance of the town's savior, Cat begins to wonder if she'd misjudged the girl. It takes all her patience to wait until the end of her meeting with James about the day's spreads to bring her up. "And, Supergirl? Still no word?"

James pauses, halfway out the door. His eyes flick to the left before zeroing back in on her. "She… she was supposed to tell you."

Cat manages to keep her features schooled into polite disinterest despite the way her heart thuds against her chest. "Tell me? Tell me what?"

James swallows visibly. "She hung up the cape, Ms. Grant."

Cat feels weak at the knees. "I see," she says, only just managing to keep her voice level. "Thank you, James. That will be all."

James hesitates in her doorway for an instant before nodding as he steps out.

It takes all her strength not to collapse the second he's out the door.

\----

"I know you were listening."

"What do you want me to do, go back to crime-fighting and endanger the people I love just because _Cat Grant_ got a little rattled?"

"I want you to think about why you're doing what you're doing, and be honest about your reasons."

"He threatened my family, James. What more reason do I need?"

"None, if that's why you're doing it. But that's never been enough to stop you before. If that's really the reason you're doing this, I'll back off. But I think we both know that's not the real reason you quit."

A shaky breath. "Please go away, James."

"I'm just--"

"I know. But please go away."

"... Alright."

\----

"James said you were asking after me."

Cat looks up, startled to her core. She'd thought the late-night visits would be over if Supergirl really had hung up the cape. "I was."

Cat gets to her feet, approaching Supergirl as quickly as her feet can take her. She stops short when the girl looks away, her hair hiding her face. "I'm sorry, Ms. Grant. But this is the last time I put on the uniform."

"I'm sorry?"

"I owed you this much. For naming me. For believing in me. For helping my friends find me and save me. But I'm… I'm exactly what everyone always thought I was. I'm not cut out for this."

"Superg--"

"I'm sorry."

As Cat watches her fly away, she finds her fingers itching for a keyboard. This is different than the last time Supergirl disappeared. This time, it seems like it will be a lot more permanent. This time, Cat needs to show how important she is with even more strength, diligence, and permanence. This time, her words won't be enough.

This time, she needs to write.

\----

Kara feels weak-kneed when she sees the headline on the copy Cat sets on her desk. Her fingers are shaking as she lifts it from her desk. She can't meet Cat's eyes as she whispers, "I'll run these down right away."

"I should say you will. That's your job."

"Of course, Ms. Grant."

\----

_A True Heroine_

**Author's Note:**

> [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


End file.
